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by Sheffield93
Summary: She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. One she hadn't felt in six months, that one she longed to feel again. She wanted to turn around to make sure it was him but was scared to just in case it was a dream or figment of her imagination.


From a prompt on Tumblr

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It had been six months since the fateful day that should have been the happiest of her life; the day her husband to be disappeared without a trace following a car crash.

Every day since, she has spent looking for clues that will give her answers. She shouldn't have been allowed on the initial investigation because she was too close to it but did hear her Captain telling the senior investigating officer "She'll be on this case whether you include her in your investigation or not." Grateful to Gates for getting the local PD to let her in, she wasn't ever going to sit around waiting or give someone the opportunity to screw it up.

The only time she would stop was when sleep became a necessity, on one occasion she had collapsed. Esposito and Ryan managed to convince her to go home to get some sleep. She hated going home, everything reminded her of what she had lost.

Martha had lost her only son and Alexis her father however they were able to deal with it better than Kate was. If they saw her twice a week at the loft then it would good although the bed was rarely slept in with Kate frequently sleeping on the sofa. It had been their room, never hers and all his stuff was still there.

Her friends and family, especially Lanie saw her once strong best friend fade away. During Beckett's relationship with Castle, she had seen her friend put on weight so she was close to healthy weight but even her older clothes now hung loosely on her slim frame. Coffee had become a meal and the dark circles under her eyes only worsened. She would struggle to finish a sandwich and it was becoming a mystery as to what her body was running off.

Days came and went with no solid leads so the Hamptons PD called the investigation off letting their team move onto other cases. This also meant Kate had to stop officially so her days were spent investigating New York's new homicides. Off duty though she would spend her time sifting through the file, looking over every piece of evidence they had. She knew every sentence, piece of evidence and picture in that file.

Kate had also become more irresponsible in the field as if it didn't matter if she died. On one occasion her lack of care and recklessness should have resulted in a suspension but Gates wasn't able to do it. It was a particularly low point for which the Captain felt that if Kate wasn't at the precinct in the day she would investigate Castle's case all day every day and be of a greater danger to herself. So Gates put her on desk duty for two weeks, it may have been the wrong decision but if Beckett somehow ended up injured, missing or dead because she wasn't at the precinct then it would have been hard to live with herself.

The boys were always mollycoddling her, giving her easier and less stressful tasks. At first she found it incredibly frustrating but as time passed it no longer bothered her. It gave her more energy to concentrate on the case which was always at the forefront of her mind.

Her days off were spent investigating the case, the boys helped where they could even Gates all of them knowing that each day that went past, her heart broke just a little bit more. The odds of him being found alive now were miniscule.

It was nearing midnight at the precinct which was as good as empty apart from a few on duty officers. She had been staring at the same page for half an hour even though she would be able to recite it if tested, her mind had wandered off recounting memories from their years together from the day she brought him in for questioning to what should have been their wedding day. How she wished that she could just touch him, kiss him, hug him or tell him she loves him just once more. The slamming of a door broke her away from those thoughts then realised she was out of coffee when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. One she hadn't felt in six months, that one she longed to feel again. She wanted to turn around to make sure it was him but was scared to just in case it was a dream or figment of her imagination.

"Kate." No it definitely wasn't a dream. She turned her head around to see him stood there.

"Castle, it's really you. I'm not dreaming am I?" She said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"No, I'm here. This is real." She jumped from her seat to throw her arms around his neck.

"I thought that I'd never see you again." She brought her head back to kiss him, strong and passionate. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Where have you been?"

"That can wait for tomorrow, right now I want to go home; home with my fiancée, to my daughter and my mother. I want a good night of sleep too."

"Home, let's go home." She agreed, it finally would be a home to go to.

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Thank you for reading and please review :)


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